OK, Here’s a visual

Lately words have failed me.  So I thought I’d post a little montage of the pictures that have been in my mind over the last week.  This represents the goings on over a two-day period – the day before and the day of - the wedding.  Right now, K and S are in Las Vegas enjoying laying out by the pool and destressing from the prior weeks.  I know Kris has told us she’s so glad it’s all over.  The wedding was a lot of fun, but it did take a lot of planning and a lot of work on Kris and Sonny’s part – and the part of a lot of others, not the least of which was DH.  I’ve never seen anyone work as hard as he did to get our home up to a visit from relatives! The best part was the team of people who came in and did the heavy duty cleaning neither of us had the time to do – even with a week off from work. 

Anyway, it was a boiling hot day – and so humid, that my reading glasses steamed up when I stepped outside to take a few photographs.  Even the lens on my camera steamed up – hence the somewhat foggy view of Kris with her Gavigan/Lefkowitz bridesmaids and flower girls at the house.

My poor Dad had a tough time, with the heat and lack of sleep, but he rallied and it was sooo good to see him and Maureen.  Six of John’s seven surviving sibs came, along with spouses – and when his SIL Jackie arrived, I knew the party had STARTED!!!

John had the foresight to get a bus for everyone to get from the reception place to the wedding down in Adelphi – an air-conditioned bus, a handicapped accessible bus! JoAnna went early to Panera and bought sandwiches (she also prepped them) along with coffee and danish for the morning crowd.  John and Donald put together three coolers with snacks and soda and water and….well, special water for whoever had the desire and was not in a recovery program (JUST KIDDING).  Thus armed, we made our way to the wedding.

The ceremony was delightful, me joyfully striding down the aisle on the arm of our son, D, and DH barely holding back the tears as he walked K down the aisle (not enough room for us both to do it, unfortunately – but that’s oK, I had flower girl duties – as in bribing them with cheerios to keep them quiet once seated  – in the meantime).

It took a few minutes for the couple to realize we had not been told to be seated, which made us all laugh – we weren’t even paying attention, either, LOL!  The ceremony was quick, with fairly traditional vows exchanged and a reading from 1 Cor 13 – my favorite:) Then a receiving line and pictures.

Then the long drive back to the reception which was a lot of fun.  K and S danced to something I didn’t recognize, but it was sweet.  DH and K danced to “Landslide” (Stevie Nicks), S and his mom danced to “Sunrise, Sunset”(Fiddler on the Roof), and John and I danced to “Never My Love” (Association) – the song we danced to at our wedding.

The bride and groom asked people to tell them their favorite song in their responses to the wedding invitation.  They got what they could find and downloaded the music, then played it at the reception.  It was really cool.

The high point of the evening musically for me was getting up and dancing with my kids, my sisters-in-law, granddaughters, and all the other women in the family, singing “We are Family” by Sister Sledge – and also “Don’t stop Believing” by Journey – apparently my kids’ favorite karaoke song (they didn’t know it was also mine and about lost their respective lunches – heh heh heh…).

And in the middle of all the hubbub, I heard “Will You Still Love Me When I’m 64″ (Beatles) and couldn’t help but wonder if Mrs. S. sent that one in…..:)

Later that evening, we had a little get together with John’s sibs and my dad and stepmom back at the house. We all crashed along with the thunder and lightening of the storm that finally invaded after the festivities were over. It was a glorious day.

The next morning I had bells and choir (bells and yells?).  Normally, I would have missed if Nancy could have substituted someone for me, but this was her 20th anniversary at SJEC and there was no way I was missing that! She was well and truly surprised and now I can say that the choir was practicing secretly at SJEC when she was on vacation at the end of May and at St. Peter’s down the street, thanks to Tom H., their organist.  It was Tom who also did the postlude at the two morning services so Nancy could meet and greet after the service.  The funny part was trying to figure out how to get her DH there without tipping him off. Tom’s wife, Donna called him on some pretext or other, but got him there.

The choir sang O Nata Lux, conducted by Barry.  She seemed pleased.  I wouldn’t have missed that for anything.:)

Afterwards, I slipped over to Baltimore and joined the rest of the family at brunch, drove Dad and Maureen to the train station and then home. 

Monday was a day off from work and boy did I need it.  Tuesday was catching up on paperwork and today I got ready for court.  The weather finally cooled down to the 80s and I HAD TO TURN DOWN A WALK – a much needed walk – WITH NANCY! DAMN~ I was just too far behind at work.

However, tomorrow I have court and then rehearsal at the Baltimore Cathedral for the new Bishop’s consecration at the end of the month.  That will be fun.

Oh, and another funny thing: I’m the substitute drummer for the musicians supporting the Bethesda Little Theater’s broadway review. Danny has let me borrow his drums.  I’d better not lose so much as a bolt. But What a hoot!!! It’s exhausting dragging the drums around, but it is fun! And I didn’t do too badly:)  Well, not that badly… well, they didn’t fire me, LOL!

Well, I’m going to go have some dinner.  It’s got to be low-carb because my butt has gotten huge with virtually giving up this winter and then the wedding and pre-wedding eating and drinking.  So far, I’ve been behaving this week.  But I’ve got a lot of catching up to do there also. 

Ah well, such is life!

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Oh Man… And I coulda had a V8!

Apparently I have “gay hands.” Man! After 30 years of marriage and six kids, I’ve been doing it all wrong! Geez Louise! I should have been another ALF. Little did I know:) Note the ring finger is ever so much longer than the index finger. Well now I’m showing my total lack of experience and sophistication! That’s OK, just don’t tell John. He’d be laughing as hard as I am.

C’est la vie!

Today, I overslept big time! I was supposed to be at church, vested and ready for rehearsal before the service by 8:30 AM. Service started at 9. I was there at 9:15. Oy! Well, at least I made it in time for the psalm. Nancy was probably thinking about the organ concert today, so if she was annoyed, she didn’t show it. I was so embarassed – good thing I’m not one of the good singers, LOL!
After church, I did my usual run to pick up the Sun and the New York Times. It had been drizzling a little and the sun came out – so the first thing that greeted me at the traffic light from St. John’s Lane to Rte 40 was a rainbow! Hope you can see it in these pictures. The second one is in the parking lot of the shopping center where I get my papers.

 

It’s faint, but you can make it out – probably better in the second one.

Knitting – well one of the reasons I was up far too late on Saturday was to (1) finish that sock yarn scarf I’ve been working on, (2) finish the second scarf (this one for my boss), and (3) start on a knitting blankie for our newest great niece. #1 got finished last night – needs to be blocked, though. I finished the eyelash scarf and didn’t do much on #2, but I did start the blankie. Here are pics:

One sock yarn scarf in dire need of blocking and finishing;

Scarf for the boss needs to be finished;

Eyelash Scarf completed;

And baby blankie begun. It’s in cotton – fair isle pattern from Dale of Norway (sweater adapted to blanket – they live in San Diego and by the time the sweater would be done, she’d be a toddler, LOL:) ) Colors to the right are more accurate, if duller than the original.

Well I was treated to the “fugue” part of this blog yesterday afternoon. After church – and attempting to cook dinner early (disaster!) I went to St. Peter’s Church for their organ dedication. Tom H., one of our choir members and an organ builder/composer extraordinaire, and whose wife, Donna, has a lovely soprano voice, repaired – or more accurately stated – rebuilt – their pipe organ. Nancy S., our music director/choirmaster/ and concert organist, put together a beautiful concert in honor of the occasion. The little church was packed and it was oh-so-warm (in January!!!). But the music was transforming. How awesome it must have been for Tom to see his work of art creating other works of art! The Rector of St. Peter’s commented that the music took him to another place and time. It did the same for me. I found myself meditating on being in God’s presence. My experience was woven in and out of the music, like I was there and not there at the same time. Words don’t adequately express the experience I had. The past few months have been difficult for me emotionally and spiritually. I have had so many questions about life, death, love, you name it. What I took away with me was this: Love is Eternal. Pain, sin, hatred and death fall away and in the end you are left with one thing: Love. The love you left with others, the love you give today and the love you have always received. That must be what Paul meant when he was penning 1 Cor 13. All that from an organ concert!

There was a couple there -Dick and Sally if you can believe it – and Dick is from WI- so I introduced them to Rennie, Nancy’s husband. There were going to try to meet up with her at the reception afterwards. I had to leave immediately afterwards in hopes of Sunday dinner with the family. Unfortunately, the chicken I attempted to slow-cook turned out AWFUL. It smelled great, but was far too dry for human consumption – at least the white meat was and that’s all my gang will eat (except me).

Oh well, life goes on:)

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday. We remember a man who confronted racism and bigotry with the mind of Christ. And now his beloved Coretta has joined him in Heaven. Let freedom ring! I slept in a little this morning. My goals are to keep on keeping on – by starting off with a walk, catching up on the wash, cleaning up the mess that is my desk, updating calendars and organizing work so I know what I’m up against, LOL.

And this evening is a Music Committee Meeting.

That oughta hold me until tomorrow – meeting with the boss and then court.

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And now for the musical portion of our programme….

Prout, Ebenezer. Fugue. Augener, London, 1891, Ninth Imp. Book previously owned by Lillian Hirsh-Tralters, New England Conservatory, 1930.

A FUGUE is a composition founded upon one subject, announced at first in one part alone, and subsequently imitated by all the other parts in turn, according to certain general principles to be hereafter explained. The name is derived from the Latin word, fuga, a flight, from the idea that one part starts on its course alone, and that those which enter later are pursuing it.

The SUBJECT of a Fugue is the theme announced in the first instance by any one part or voice without harmony [except in the case of a double, triple, etc. fugue], on which the whole composition is founded. By this it is not meant that the subject is to be heard continuously throughout the fugue; this would probably cause great monotony, although instances are to be met with (e.g., in the first fugue of Bach’s ‘Wohltemperirtes Klavier’) in which the subject is rarely absent. What is intended is that the subject is to make its appearance, at more or less frequent intervals, throughout the whole of the fugue.

The ANSWER is the transposition of the subject into the key of the perfect fourth or fifth above or below the key of the subject. In an enormously large majority of cases the keys for the subject and answer will be the tonic and subdominant instead of the dominant. The answer will in the first instance be given by whatever voice has the second entry, and the choice of this voice…will largely depend on what voice first announces the subject. The answer is frequently an exact transposition of the subject; in this case it is called a real answer; and a fugue which contains a real answer is said to be a “real fugue.” At other times the answer is a modified transposition of the subject, alterations being necessitated by the form of the subject itself. Such an answer is called a tonal answer; and a fugue in which there is a tonal answer is called a “tonal fugue.” The rules which enable us to decide whether an answer should be real or tonal will be fully discussed [elsewhere.]

The first voice, which announced the subject, should never be silent while the second voice is giving the answer. It always accompanies with a counterpoint, which may or may not be intended for subsequent use. If it be, it must be written in double counterpoint, so as to be able to accompany the subject or answer either above or below. A counterpoint which accompanies subject or answer systematically (though not of necessity invariably) is called a COUNTERSUBJECT. We sometimes meet with fugues that have more than one countersubject.

A fugue may be in any number of parts, but, whatever the number, they should all (with very rare exception) enter in turn at the commencement of the fugue with either the subject or the answer. That portion of the fugue which extends as far as the conclusion of the subject or answer (as the case may be) by the voice that last enters is called the EXPOSITION of the Fugue.

The exposition is usually followed by the first EPISODE. An episode is that part of the fugue in which for a while neither subject nor answer is heard. It is usually founded upon some material taken either from the subject or from one of the accompanying counterpoints, in order to give unity to the composition as a whole. The episode is also employed for purposes of modulation, as will be seen when we come to treat of it later.

The close of the first episode is sometimes, though not always, followed by what is called a COUNTER-EXPOSITION. This is a second exposition in the same two keys as the first, but with this difference, that the voices which before had the subject now usually had the answer, and vice versa. Sometimes the counter-exposition precedes the first episode, and follows the exposition immediately. Very frequently also it is only partial; that is to say, only some of the voices, and not all, take part in it.

The counter-exposition, if there be one, will generally be followed by a second episode, different from the first one. To this second episode (or to the first, if there be no counter-exposition) succeeds the MIDDLE SECTION of the fugue. Here a much greater amount of freedom is allowed to the composer; in fact, there are hardly two fugues the middle sections of which are identical in their construction. There are no restrictions in this section as to order, interval, or key of entry, though in the best models we mostly find that here the two principle keys (tonic and dominant) of the fugue, which have been almost exclusively employed during the exposition, are in general avoided, or only incidentally touched on. The entries of the subject in other than the chief keys of the movement are here also mostly divided by episodes.

The FINAL SECTION of a fugue is that in which a return is made to the original key. Here the subject appears once at least; very frequently the answer is also repeated. It is not uncommon, especially in vocal fugues, to find a Pedal point … introduced toward the close of this final section. sometimes there will be two pedal points; in this case a dominant pedal will come first, and a tonic pedal at the conclusion of the piece. Pedal points are also occasionally, though much more rarely, to be met with in the middle section of a fugue….

An important feature of many, though by no means of all, fugues, is what is known as a STRETTO. this is an Italian word meaning “close,” and is applied to that part of a fugue in which the entries of the subject and answer succeed one another more closely, that is, at shorter distance of time, than in the first exposition. For instance, if the subject be four bars in length, the answer will, in all probability, enter at the fifth bar. If, now, in the subsequent developments of the fugue the subject is followed by the answer (or by the subject itself) in another voice at the fourth, third, or second bar instead of the fifth, so that the first entry, so to speak, overlaps the second, we have a stretto. A stretto may be merely for two voices, or all the voices of the fugue may take part in it in turn. Very frequently we find more than one stretto in the same fugue. In that case the interest of the music is not only maintained, but heightened by making each successive stretto closer than the preceding.

CLOSE Fugue: one in which the answer enters before the completion of the subject – stretto in the first exposition

STRICT Fugue: one with no episodes or where the episodes are entirely drawn from subject or countersubject.

FREE Fugue:one in which episodes are constructed on matter unconnected to subject or counter-subject.

RICERCARE or RICERCATA: STRICT fugue employing canonic imitation, augmentation, diminution, etc.

FUGUES BY INVERSION, AUGMENTATION, DIMINUTION: Where answer is given as inversion, augmentaion or diminution of the subject instead of a transposition of the subject.

FUGHETTA: Fugue of small dimensions, not developed at any great length.

Fugue

From flight

Many voices

One organism

I am beginning to see the connection between psychology and music